strike the match (let it all burn)
by authorwannabe101
Summary: Eijun, Furuya, Haruichi, and Raichi find themselves in the middle of a hostage situation. Part of my "we are the challengers (plus ultra!)" verse. Prequel to "nothing but ashes (blow them all away)".
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! I'm so happy to be back with another (much longer) addition to my "we are the challengers (plus ultra!)" verse!**

* * *

 **A few things to know for those who haven't read the verse:**

 **(1) it started on my tumblr at queenofmoons67 as a list of quirks (basically superpowers) for DNA characters. that grew into a _second_ list for Act II characters, as well as two short fics and a drabble. the list is only accessible on tumblr, but the other fics can be found on my author page under the name "we are the challengers (plus ultra!)".**

 **(2) you _do not_ need to have read the rest of the verse to enjoy this fic.**

* * *

 **A few things to know for "strike the match (let it all burn)":**

 **(1) new ability for Eijun: people with lion quirks, like lions, can't purr. they roar instead. likewise, cheetah quirks such as Kuramochi can purr but can't roar. however, since Eijun is part lion _and_ part house cat, one of the only physical attributes of a house cat he gained is the ability to purr. so he can both purr _and_ roar.**

 **(2) quirks: Eijun (lion and house cat), Haruichi and Ryou (rose), Furuya (bonfire), Raichi (smoke and sparks), Kataoka (doberman), Kuramochi (cheetah camo)**

 **(3) this is the only fic for this AU so far that remotely qualifies as a crossover with BNHA, though the only two characters who appear (Endeavor and Todoroki Shouto) only do so for a short while, despite being the reason this fic exists. if you aren't familiar with them, don't worry. all you need to know is: Endeavor is the number two hero and Shouto is his son. this fic takes place during a time that Shouto (usually attending a hero school) is doing field work with Endeavor at his hero agency near Tokyo.**

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Raichi hummed under his breath as he bounced along to the restroom. One of the Seido managers had been kind enough to point him the right way, Yakushi was on a long winning streak even before the fall season started, and his dad had promised katsudon if they continued that streak with today's practice game. Life was good and, as he opened the bathroom door to find two of his favorite pitchers, he realized it was about to get even better.

"Furuya!" he exclaimed, eyes lighting up with glee to match the smoke now emanating from his palms in excitement. "And Sawamura! And -" Raichi frowned at the third Seido player. He looked familiar, with his rose petal hair, but he couldn't _quite_ place him.

Rose Petal gave him a short bow, introducing himself with a quiet, "Kominato Haruichi, Todoroki-kun. Seido's second baseman."

 _Now_ Raichi remembered him.

"Devil boy!"

Sawamura and Kominato both choked, though for different reasons - the former was definitely holding back a laugh, which made Raichi beam even brighter than before. His cheeks were starting to hurt, but they always did during games. Sanada-senpai said it was because he was using his muscles.

Rose Petal - Kominato - opened his mouth to say something, but the door slamming open behind Raichi cut him off.

"Oi, boss," someone growled. "There are three other runts in here."

Ahead of Raichi, Kominato's eyes went wide and thorns began growing from his arms. Sawamura's tail was stiff, almost hiding behind him, while his ears laid back and his eyes became slits. A half threatening, half frightened rumble sounded from the pitcher's chest. Next to them, Furuya went completely still.

Faced with all of this, Raichi's smile fell, and he didn't want to turn around. He didn't get a choice. Thick fingers - the kind that came from pressing two hundred pounds a day - wrapped around his arm and spun him around.

"Hello, Todoroki brat," a second voice sneered.

* * *

Eijun just wanted a bathroom break. That was it. He didn't want yet another run in with an opposing player in the bathroom - honestly, was this a shounen manga or something? And he _definitely_ didn't want three giant men bursting through the door, grabbing said opposing player, and roughly tying him up, all while pointing guns at him and his friends.

He could feel Harruchi's thorns pricking into his skin on one side, and the heat that came before Furuya's flames on the other.

"Calm down," he muttered - to himself or his friends, he wasn't sure. "Calm down, calm down, calm -"

Furuya burst into flames. They roared off him like someone tossed a match onto dry kindle, uncontrollable and frightening. Eijun had seen Furuya out of control before, but never anything like this. With a yelp, he leapt away and dragged Harruchi with him.

The move brought them closer to Raichi, who stared at Furuya with something almost like envy in his eyes. Next to the Yakushi player, two of the men stared between the pitcher and batter in confusion.

"Hey, uh, boss?" the first one said.

Eijun grit his teeth at hearing _his shogun's nickname_ addressed to someone else, but pricked his ears.

"What?"

"You're sure the one only creating _smoke_ is Endeavor's nephew, and not the one currently on fire?"

Eijun gaped and turned to Harruchi to see if he'd caught the name drop.

"Yes," the middle man - 'boss' - grunted. His tiger tail swished restlessly. "The file said he was short, had a scar on his cheek, and went to Yakushi. That's him alright."

"But -" the second man started, skin rolling around his arm in weird waves.

"But nothing! We need to get out of here before anyone else -"

"Sa - wa - mu - ra!" Kanemaru's irate voice called. "Bakamura, does it honestly take this long to use the bathroom? Miyuki-senpai and Kuramochi-senpai are looking for you!"

The door handle started to jiggle, and then it vanished under a coat of - was that skin? Eijun looked to the second henchman. His arm was still pointed at the door, skin settling back in place. What was on the door seemed to have hardened, as Kanemaru cursed.

"Oi, Bakamura! Did you lock it?"

Did the man's skin work like _glue_?

"Tell him to go away," the first voice hissed.

Eijun felt something prick the tender spot under his chin even as Harruchi whimpered, "Eijun-kun."

He looked down with his eyes, not daring to move his head. The first man's hand rested under his chin, porcupine quills coaxing beads of blood to roll down his throat, hot and burning.

Furuya shook with anger. From the looks of it, he wouldn't be any help, as everything the other pitcher had went to controlling his fire.

On the floor, Raichi lay absolutely still. The only exceptions were the occasional sparks that flew from his fingertips.

Eijun closed his eyes for a moment. With both lion and house cat blood, he had always had exceptional hearing, even for a cat. He could hear Kanemaru's cursing and shouting outside. The crackle of Furuya's fire and the snick as Harruchi produced more thorns. Raichi's heavy breathing. The rumbling growl within the tiger's throat.

What was it he had said? They wanted Raichi because he was related to Endeavor. Endeavor was the number two hero. Hero. Kidnapping. Revenge? Blackmail? Eijun didn't know the motive. What he did know… what he did know was that if he let Raichi leave the bathroom with these thugs, he might never face him in baseball again. The same consequence applied if he didn't obey their captors, here and now.

Opening his eyes, Eijun looked at the porcupine with, he hoped, a bit of fear. The quills backed off enough that he could talk, and Eijun opened his mouth.

* * *

"KIDNAPPERS!" Eijun-kun roared at the top of his lungs.

The man with the porcupine quirk lunged forward in an attempt to silence him, but Haruichi pulled Eijun-kun back and put up an entire arm full of thorns. The thug - kidnapper - scrambled to come to a halt before he ran into them. Taking the opportunity, Haruichi snagged Todoroki's jacket in one hand and walked backwards, using his thorns to ward off the kidnappers. Eijun-kun stumbled along behind him.

The man with the tiger quirk stepped forward, apparently deciding to just deal with the thorns. Haruichi glanced at Furuya, and the burning boy stepped forward with a fierce glare. His fire would keep the kidnappers back for now. He may not have enough control to be offensive yet, but defense he could do.

Sure enough, the three kidnappers came to a halt just in time for them to hear Kanemaru running away, yelling for someone to call the police.

"Good job, Eijun-kun," Haruichi murmured. He used his thorns to tear a strip off his jersey and pressed it to his friend's throat. "Now, can you untie Todoroki-kun?"

* * *

Satoru felt numb. His body had been continuously producing flames for about fifteen minutes, first because he had no choice and then because they were the main defense. If his flames fell, Todoroki would be kidnapped. He and his friends would likely be killed. They had to stay up, and to further deter the kidnappers, he had to stare them down and pretend he could control them. It meant the only things he knew about his friends came from their words.

Harruchi muttered to himself for now. From the sound of it, he was trying to strategize an escape using his batting strategies.

At the same time, Sawamura and Todoroki plotted loudly, uselessly, and disruptively. Once untied, it hadn't taken long for the opposing player to bounce back when faced with Sawamura's optimism. It left Satoru and Harruchi at wit's end - but thankfully, it also seemed to befuddle the would be kidnappers.

"Then I go -" Todoroki made an explosion noise "- and then you go -" that one was probably supposed to be a lion roar "- and your friends run and we follow!"

Sawamura hollered in excitement. The porcupine guy shook his head as if to clear cobwebs. Harruchi made soothing sounds.

Satoru just grunted. If they made a feasible plan, he was all for it. The problem with feasibility, though, was that it probably required the kidnappers to _not_ know the plan beforehand. And with each plan being more extravagant than the last that seemed less and less likely.

Sawamura suddenly grew silent behind him with a hissed "hush!" to Todoroki, and Satoru jolted. Had they finally come up with a good plan?

"Footsteps," his rival murmured. "Outside. One is… shogun."

Todoroki made a questioning noise, to which Harruchi muttered an answer too low for Satoru to understand. He focused instead on glaring at the kidnappers, who now looked suspicious at the silence.

Or at least, they did until the footsteps Sawamura had heard became loud enough for all of them to hear.

* * *

Raichi stared at Sawamura as the pitcher cocked his head, lion ears swivelling this way and that.

Making up plans had been fun. It had distracted him from his stint being tied up, which he thought might have been the goal. He didn't know Sawamura well enough to know if that was true or not, but it seemed likely. Especially seeing how serious he was now…

"Heavy combat boots?" the lion murmured. "Police, probably. Though I don't think they'll be able to open that door, what with the glue quirk and all."

"Our captors are probably counting on it," Kominato replied. "Otherwise they would have given up and left before the police got here. They still think they have a chance at their goal; they just switched from kidnapping to a hostage situation since they can't reach us."

"Why haven't they shot me?" someone asked, and Raichi realized with a start that the monster pitcher had spoken. "If they shot me, they could have reached you all and gotten out before the police arrived."

"But not easily," Kominato pointed out. Raichi figured he'd been thinking about the same question this entire time. "Shoot you, or any of us, and they'll be shown no mercy while also attracting more and better heroes. That's the last thing they need when they already want Endeavor's attention."

Raichi grumbled at the reminder. "We're not even related anymore… he and my dad mutually disowned each other before I was even born. Something about each thinking the other was a -" he spit out a word he didn't know the meaning of. It wasn't Japanese, and his dad only used it when he was really drunk and thinking of his brother. Still, he knew it was bad, and was proven that by Sawamura's confused look and Kominato's wide-eyes.

Kominato recovered first.

"I don't think their bad relationship is gonna stop the kidnappers, because it'll still be effective."

Raichi sighed, but nodded. He knew what the other was getting at.

"No one else will care about the bad relationship. Endeavor can't leave a bunch of kids to be hostages, because the public would tear him apart. He'd fall from being the number two hero in an instant. The fact that it's not just me would make it worse."

* * *

The instant Raichi fell silent, Eijun's ears picked up a new sound: the cocking of a gun. He had never heard it outside of television before, but the way it sent shivers down his spine to vibrate through his tail was undeniable.

He stood slowly. He didn't know what he was going to do, just that he had to do _something_.

Harruchi reached out to grab his jersey, probably to stop him, but Eijun just shook him off and kept moving. A hand grasped his pant leg, and he let it. Right now, it grounded him a bit so he wasn't just running on instinct.

Peering around Furuya's fire brought him face to face with the barrel of a gun. Eijun let out a startled hiss and stepped back, though all it caused was the glue guy - the one holding the gun - to smirk.

"You want the kids?" the leader called, leaning in close to the door. "Tell Endeavor we want one hundred and twenty million yen from his _personal accounts_ for the return of his nephew and friends. Once it's here, leave it at the door. If I open the door to any police, one of the kids gets shot. To show that I'm serious -" he nodded at the glue guy.

There was the sound of scrambling from behind the door, a blurted "Wait!", and the gun went off.

Furuya yelped and rocked back on his heels, but otherwise stood his ground. The hand in Eijun's pant leg twisted tighter, someone else latched on, and Eijun almost fell. Maybe they were trying to pull him down. Maybe they just panicked. But whatever it was, Eijun's tail lashed in an attempt to balance himself again and, instead, intercepted the bullet in mid-air.

Eijun yowled in pain as he felt the two connect. The sound tore at his throat and, as he fell to the ground, he saw Furuya flinch and cover his ears. It was a sound that he hadn't made since he was a kid, falling out of trees and scraping his knees. It was a sound that was supposed to gather his pride. But in this situation, that was impossible. The only pack member there was Harruchi.

And yet, as he hit the ground, he felt hands gathering him into a lap and saw furious pink eyes above him. The only one able to respond had done so, and he would never leave him. That was the promise of a pride.

* * *

Haruichi's hands shook as he ran fingers through Eijun-kun's hair. The bangs were wet with sweat, though thankfully not blood, as he'd managed to cushion his friend's fall.

"Knock on the door twice if you understand."

There was a pause, but the two knocks came quickly. Haruichi guessed the police were as shaken by the events as they were. He hadn't thought the would be kidnappers would actually shoot one of them, let alone aim for the only one with a connection to Endeavor. Though, granted, he didn't know _exactly_ where it would have hit since Eijun-kun's tail… For all he knew the bullet was supposed to miss. After all, both the police and the heroes would be even more pissed now.

Haruichi looked down at the tail. Todoroki's fingers shook even more than his own as he tied a torn piece of jersey over the deep groove the bullet had carved. The Yakushi player had reverted back to his shy self with the turn of events - not that Haruichi could blame him. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to curl up in his aniki's arms. But that wasn't possible. He had to stay strong for -

The light in the bathroom flickered. Startled, Haruichi tore his gaze off of Eijun-kun and Todoroki to look up.

It wasn't the lighting that faltered, it was the fire. Even as he watched, Furuya's legs buckled and he fell to his knees, flames only half as strong as they originally were.

"Furuya," Eijun-kun whimpered worriedly.

Haruichi pet him some more to try and calm him, but he felt the same way. It had to have been almost thirty minutes now. The adrenaline rush that had fueled the fire at first was probably long gone, and Furuya had never kept it going for so long after. He had to be nearing exhaustion at this point.

With Eijun-kun down for now - while not a serious injury, it was to one of the most sensitive parts of a cat - and with Todoroki being the main target, they might need Furuya's flames later. While the guns were a big problem, plus the glue on the door they didn't know how to get off, it would be best to have a greater arsenal… right?

Trusting Furuya's flames to hide them, he bent down over Eijun-kun and beckoned for Todoroki to join them as he whispered his plan.

* * *

Satoru knelt in a bathroom stall, hands tied behind his back. At Harruchi's word, he had finally allowed his flames to die. The result was that he was slowly gaining back energy, but also that - with the protection of fire gone - the four of them had been separated into their own stalls and tied up. They couldn't see one another, but their captors could clearly see them. On top of that, all the toilets were western style, so they couldn't just sit on the floor and communicate through touch.

They had gained a few things, but in their current situation, they seemed rather small: Once Satoru had enough energy, he'd be able to burn through his ropes with his flames; Harruchi actually wasn't tied up due to his thorns preventing any of their captors from getting close to him; Sawamura was now sitting up instead of lying on a dirty bathroom floor; and lastly, if the police or heroes decided to burst through the door, they all had at least a little bit of protection.

Still, the fact they had to do so made him… he didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he wasn't powerful enough to protect his friends. On the other, he appreciated that they recognised that and helped him. They didn't hold him accountable, and -

"Hello?" someone called from behind the bathroom door.

Satoru stiffened and tested his flames. He was so on edge right now that they simmered there, easily reachable, just below the surface. Only the fact he was so low on power prevented them from flaming non-stop.

"Hello? Who's in charge?" The longer sentence, though still muffled by the door, made the speaker clear. Satoru relaxed on his seat. It was Kataoka-kantoku. He had completely forgotten that Sawamura had identified his footsteps before, and must have been worried this entire time after the gunshot and cry. He wondered which of the policemen had held their coach back from storming the bathroom. It certainly hadn't been Takashima-sensei, who Sawamura hadn't heard and, though he didn't know her well, probably would have joined Kataoka-kantoku.

"Me," the tiger spoke gruffly.

"My name is Kataoka Tesshin. I was wondering if you needed a first aid kit or a doctor, for the fifteen year old boy in there you shot."

* * *

Raichi had listened with wide eyes to the Seido coach, but at those last words, he couldn't stay still and silent. He had retreated into himself after Sawamura was shot, but sitting by himself had done him some good: It had let him stew in his anger, both at their captors and at himself for the gun being fired in the first place. Now, he could finally do something about it.

"Sawamura's fine, coach!" he yelled, and cackled when glue-guy whirled on him.

He didn't have those eyes on him for long, though, because Sawamura himself called from the stall beside him, "Worry more 'bout Furuya, shogun; he's used up all his energy for pitching already!"

There was a choking sound from Kominato's stall, and an outraged cry from Furuya's.

Silence came from outside, before - "We can worry about that the practice game later, Sawamura. For now, I'm just glad you're alright." The voice was soft, and it invoked softness in return. Raichi imagined that if he closed his eyes, he would feel like he was curled up with a dog, running his fingers through its fur. Safe. Protected.

Raichi let out a cackle and pretended he wasn't awkwardly wiping away tears with his shoulder.

* * *

Endeavor arrived with a bang. Apparently, even glue created by a quirk wasn't strong enough to resist his fire, and he melted it in no time. One second, even Eijun could only just make out the sound of movement and mumbling, the next, the door was kicked in.

Eijun watched as the leader pulled out some kind of special gun, but he never even had the chance to fire it. Endeavor punched them all unconscious first.

Striding in behind him came a teenager, probably around their age, with red and white hair and wearing a jumpsuit as a hero costume. He looked between the four of them and, ultimately, headed straight for Eijun. It was probably the bandaged tail.

"Are you comfortable on the toilet, or would you prefer to wait for the paramedics on the floor?"

Yeah. It was definitely the bandaged tail.

"No, uh, I can walk to them," Eijun insisted, and stood up to prove it. He swayed a bit on his feet, but ultimately stayed upright and stepped out of the stall, hands still tied and all. All that time on the field where his tail was, essentially, illegal, had paid off in better balance without it. "My teammate Furuya, though, probably needs -"

"Shut up, Eijun-kun," Harruchi said sweetly, appearing out of nowhere to stand at his elbow. "Furuya-kun is exhausted, yes, but you're the one who was shot."

"Let us take care of you," Raichi added hotly, jumping to stand on his other side.

"Mm," Furuya nodded as he stepped up right into Eijun's face. Like Raichi and Eijun, his hands were still tied, but that didn't stop him from being intimidating. The action forced Eijun to either sit back down on the floor or be in someone else's space.

Eijun sat back down.

* * *

Things moved pretty quickly after that. Todoroki Shouto, as he introduced himself, was only left to watch over them for as long as it took the police and Endeavor to escort their captors out of the bathroom. Once that was done, Haruichi found himself being wrapped in a shock blanket and a policeman trying to move him and the others away from Eijun-kun.

After everything they had been through, they seriously thought he was just going to leave?

Haruichi let his arms grow thorns even as his legs grew roots and he, quite literally, planted himself to the bathroom floor.

Putting his hands on his hips, he gave them the most menacing glare he'd ever seen from his aniki and said, "I'm part of Eijun-kun's pride, so for as long as he wants me here, I'm not leaving."

The policeman stared at him, then looked to another officer and asked, "Captain?"

Said captain stepped forward with a flick of his lion tail, and Haruichi practically collapsed in relief. Surely the older lion would completely understand, and -

"No."

Haruichi swore he felt a petal die. "No?"

"You're not a lion," the captain pointed out. "You're not even another cat. How could you be part of his pride?"

Haruichi had made it through almost an hour of being held hostage, but it was now that he truly felt the urge to kill someone.

"Excuse me?" he asked, ever so sweetly.

The captain opened his mouth, but then paused. Good. At least he wasn't an idiot.

"We still need to take your statement," he said slowly.

Nevermind, he was a complete idiot and Haruichi was going to -

"Can't you just take his with Sawamura's?" Takashima-sensei asked, appearing out of absolutely nowhere. Addressing Haruichi, she added, "Kataoka has gone with Furuya to stand in as guardian. The elder Todoroki will go with his son, and I'm here to act as guardian for you and Sawamura." Turning back to the captain, she smiled and said, "Does that sound alright with you?"

The captain looked from Takashima-sensei, to Haruichi - still planted to the floor - to Eijun-kun behind them, loudly complaining as the paramedics treated his bullet wound.

Apparently giving up, he sighed. "Fine. You can stay with Sawamura."

Haruichi beamed and promptly turned his back.

"Eijun-kun, here. You can squeeze my hand while they rewrap your tail."

* * *

The instant they left the bathroom, Satoru was separated from Todoroki. He watched as a police officer led the Yakushi player away, but turned easily to follow a different officer when Kataoka-kantoku touched his shoulder.

"We'll get you an IV to go along with that blanket once we're seated -" the officer said.

There was more, but Satoru wasn't really interested. If he was being honest with himself, the only thing he wanted was to sleep for a thousand years. He didn't even want to pitch, let alone care about the practice game or giving a statement. Though, if that was required for the sleep, he would do it. Especially if it meant reuniting with Harruchi and Sawamura soon. He'd seen the two of them stay in the bathroom, but when he and Todoroki had tried to do the same, the policewoman kept them moving.

"Furuya," Kataoka-kantoku said, voice low and rough. It sounded like he'd been shouting a lot.

Satoru looked up to find the police officer gesturing them into a classroom. Inside, a paramedic was setting up an IV stand.

'Sleep,' he reminded himself, and walked inside.

* * *

Raichi's reunion with his dad was a tearful affair. He followed a police officer into a classroom only to be jumped by his dad and wrapped up in a hug, which promptly set both of them to bawling.

The police officer tried to wrangle them - Raichi thought, but couldn't be sure over the sound of crying - and eventually gave up. By the time the Todoroki's released one another, it was to find the room empty except for the red and white haired hero intern.

"Shouto…" Raichi's dad said slowly. "I haven't seen you since… well. I've actually never seen you in person before, though I cheered for you in the UA sports festival. Second place wasn't bad."

Shouto - ? - nodded. "Thank you. I… you didn't have to cheer for me. My dad never told me he had a brother, so I can't imagine your relationship was that great -"

Raizou let out a laugh. "That's an understatement, kid. We've had fights where looking back, I think we might have been trying to kill the other. But that doesn't mean I won't support my nephew." Looking serious, and hugging Raichi close to his chest, he finished, "I just needed to see you compete in that cavalry game to know you're nothing like your father."

Now _Shouto_ looked close to tears, and Raichi was ConfusedTM.

"Wait a second… so, you're my cousin?"

Shouto nodded.

"And we're the same age?"

Another nod.

"But I've never met you, and neither of us knew the other existed?"

A third nod, though slower than the others.

"And… where did the police officer go?"

His dad startled, looking around as if only just realising the only other adult in the room had completely vanished.

Shouto offered, "He left after the first five minutes of crying and got me. He thought I might have more luck getting you to calm down, seeing how I'm interning under Endeavor and all."

The last part of the sentence had more bitterness in it than his dad's rants, but Raichi elected to shelve it and move on for now. A hostage situation and a newfound cousin were emotionally taxing enough on their own. He'd open his ears to his cousin's rants tomorrow.

Raichi announced this to a startled cousin and a proud looking dad. If others knew of the promise, it would stick better. There would be a tomorrow. He refused to let his cousin disappear on him again.

* * *

Eijun's tail didn't even need stitches. By the time they had exited the classroom, statement made, a doctor with a skin growth quirk had arrived. They'd unwrapped the bandage and watched his tail mend - though the furrow in it carved by the bullet would, the doctor confirmed, be there forever. Eijun didn't care. He couldn't use his tail during games anyway, so it wasn't like it would affect his pitching, and it wouldn't affect his balance either.

Now, he just needed to face the rest of his pack.

Takashima-sensei had promised him that both Kuramochi and their aniki had been kept informed of proceedings, as his roommate and Harruchi's brother, but in Eijun's opinion that just meant there was no way of hiding the day's events from them.

"We're dead, Harruchi," he muttered, ears flat to his head as they headed towards his room. "Absolutely dead. Mochi-senpai will strangle me and onii-san will kill you, and if we somehow survive them, Miyuki will surely kill us for missing the game. Our only saving grace is that that means Furuya will die too, so at least we'll all be together in the afterlife. We escaped death only to face it once again… oh, Harruchi, what luckless lives we live…"

Eijun buried his face in his hands. When he looked up again, Takashima-sensei and Harruchi pointedly shared an eye roll.

"We'll be fine, Eijun-kun," Harruchi reassured. "Aniki won't kill us, and I'm sure Kuramochi-senpai will at least hold off on the wrestling moves till tomorrow. And the game has just been pushed till next week, so I'm sure we're safe from Miyuki-senpai as well. Ok?"

They had reached his room's door, so Eijun felt like he had nothing to lose by giving a hesitant nod. Harruchi smiled and opened the door.

Eijun had a moment to take in clearly more than just Mochi and onii-san waiting for them in the room before he was jumped by the former.

"Bakamura!" his roommate scolded into his hair. He could clearly feel the other rubbing his cheek against him, and a churring noise reverberated from Mochi's chest. In return, Eijun let out a purr and pushed his head up into the other's cheek, closing his eyes to slits.

* * *

Haruichi was allowed to watch Kuramochi and Eijun-kun's reunion for just a moment. After that, he was distracted by the arm slung around his shoulders and a familiar voice in his ear.

"Furuya told us you kept everyone safe. Good job."

Haruichi debated slipping out from under the arm, but then it squeezed tighter and… well. After almost an hour of crouching in a bathroom, wondering if he or his friends would be killed, this seemed like a good place to be. He relaxed into the hold and smiled.

"Furuya's underestimating his own importance, Aniki. Except for Eijun-kun's tail, we all got out safely thanks to him."

Aniki hummed in understanding as he guided Haruichi to a seat on someone's bed.

Kanemaru yelped, "Wait, what about Sawamura's tail?"

Isashiki demanded, "Furuya?! You didn't say anything about a tail!"

Tetsu said, "He's sleeping, Jun. Don't wake him."

Zono grumbled menacingly and cracked his knuckles.

Miyuki, for once the voice of reason, popped the rising tension balloon with a calm, "Said tail is right there, and I'm sure Kominato and Sawamura can tell us what happened."

All of a sudden, Haruichi found almost everyone's eyes on him. The only exception was Furuya, currently a sleeping blanket bundle in the top bunk.

"It got shot," Eijun-kun piped up, and all of a sudden, everyone's eyes were gone. Haruichi relaxed a bit more into his aniki's hold. He hadn't even realised he'd tensed up again, but trust the southpaw to notice _that_ of all things.

"Are you ok?" Aniki asked, voice low so as to not interrupt Eijun-kun's now enthusiastic retelling of how he'd been shot. "Apparently Furuya left out a lot. Though, granted, he seemed like he only wanted to sleep and was thoroughly done with interrogations for the day."

Haruichi laughed, but nodded. "I'm fine, Aniki. Eijun-kun is the only one who got hurt, unless you count Furuya basically running a marathon with his quirk."

His only response was another hum, but the arm around his shoulders slipped down to rub circles into his back. Haruichi closed his eyes and relaxed into sleep.

* * *

Satoru opened his eyes to the dim light of dawn coming through the window. His body was, for once, warm in its blanket nest. Deciding he had enough time to sleep some more before breakfast, he closed his eyes.

"Mmmrgh," someone groaned. There was a soft thump as they rolled over.

Satoru lay still, eyes still closed, but now wide awake. Who…?

"Mmmmm," someone else answered.

Now that Satoru paid attention, he could also make out at least three different people snoring. What had happened after he went to bed last night?

Satoru opened his eyes and rolled over to the edge of the bunk. Peering over, he almost fell out in surprise. The room was _packed_. It looked like no one had left for their own rooms, but at the same time, there were definitely more people in it than he remembered.

On the bunks across from Satoru, Masuko had claimed the bottom for himself, while Tetsu, Chris, and Isashiki cuddled together on the top.

As for the bottom bunk underneath him, Kuramochi and Sawamura were curled up facing each other, but with the lion's head still tucked under the cheetah's chin. Kominato lay with his back pressed up against Kuramochi's. Harruchi had his own back to Sawamura's.

Impossibly, the floor was even more crowded. Zono and Miyuki rested their backs against the bunk, legs sprawled everywhere. The former was drooling and the latter never removed his glasses.

Across from them, Kanemaru, Toujou, and Sakai had all squeezed in to sleep with their backs to Masuko's bunk, legs either crossed or mixing in with Zono and Miyuki's.

Shirasu had claimed the area in front of the TV. He was curled up with his front to Kawakami, who had his back pressed up against Tanba's. Seki and Asou lay back to back next to them. Ono, Miyauchi, and Yamaguchi had all chosen to sleep in the desk chairs, while Nabe and Higasa had chosen two of the actual desks.

The front of the room had been left to the girls: Fujiwara, Yoshikawa, Umemeto, and Natsukawa actually blocked the doorway. No one was getting in or out any time soon.

Satisfied, Satoru rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this new addition! Omakes for it will be posted soon as chapter two (also known as this entire fic, but from the POV of those stuck waiting outside).**

 **As always, please review! If you have any ideas for future additions, I'm open to hearing them!**


	2. Omakes

**Here's the omakes chapter, as promised! Like "strike the match (let it all burn)", it bounces between various POVs. This time, though, once someone's POV has been done, they aren't revisited (though, of course, they may appear in later scenes).**

 **Quirk List: Kuramochi (cheetah camo), Ryou and Haruichi (rose), Miyuki (quirkless), Kataoka (doberman), Zono (oak tree), Toujou (rock), Chris (weakness reading), Eijun (lion and house cat), Furuya (bonfire), Asada (quirkless)**

* * *

Youichi was frantic. Everyone had been warming up for their practice game against Yakushi when Kanemaru ran out on the field screaming for Kataoka-kantoku. Next thing he knew, he, Miyuki, and Zono were being summoned to talk with the coaches.

Their news had sent his heart into overdrive. Sawamura - stupid, stupid Bakamura - had gotten himself into a hostage situation. Because of course he had. And his boyfriend's little brother had _also_ gotten himself into that situation, because _of course he had_. And _of course_ Furuya had been dragged into the mess as well. Because it was just Seido's luck to have two of their ace competitors _and_ their second baseman in this mess right before the fall season started.

Now, he was stuck pacing around the dugout.

Youichi hissed and bared his teeth at nothing. Someone yelped, and he blinked to find Kanemaru right in front of him.

"Sorry…" he said slowly. "I didn't see you there."

The first year shook his head. "No, it- it's fine." He took a deep breath. "Are you ok, Kuramochi-senpai?" Youichi just looked at him, and Kanemaru nodded. "Have you considered doing something? I - talking to the police helped me calm down. It won't take your mind off of it, but…"

"Thank you, Kanemaru," Youichi said.

He turned on his heel and burst into a run - not his normal run, his cheetah-quirk powered run. He didn't use it often, since he'd been the target of a lot of discrimination as a kid for the camouflage that came with it. But for Sawamura and the Kominatos…

"Where are you, Ryou?" he panted.

* * *

Ryou's head was deep in his book, surrounded by his old teammates in the library. "A Study Group for Failing Baseball Idiots", Takako had called it when she emailed all of them. They had been at it for hours and were ready for a break, so when they all heard yelling from outside, they were quick to join their classmates in crowding the windows.

Thankfully, Ryou didn't even have to say anything. Being part of a stampeding team of baseball players meant that most people were quick to get out of their way. Those who didn't found themselves on the ends of his glare and moving anyway. Once at the windows, Tanba was kind enough to shuffle to the side and make room for him.

Opening the window flooded the library with even more noise. Looking over the edge, Ryou stared and, ever so carefully, didn't let his jaw drop.

There were police cars crowding the front entrance. None of them had their lights and sirens going, but their sheer number spoke to the emergency. So did the ambulance crouched among them.

The police themselves rushed all over the place. More than one was making a phone call, while others gathered gear. Anyone running did so between their cars and - Ryou's heart dropped. The direction of the baseball fields.

The library doors behind them crashed open, and everyone spun to face them. Ryou couldn't see him over everyone else, but he'd know Youichi's voice calling out his name anywhere.

* * *

Kazuya looked up from his brooding to find Kuramochi and the elder Kominato leading the rest of the third years in a charge straight towards Kataoka-kantoku and the police captain. Yelping, he leapt from the dugout to cut them off.

"Woah, woah!" he said, hands held up in the universal 'stop before you run me over' gesture. "Don't you think interrupting them will have the exact _opposite_ effect than what you want?"

"Move, Miyuki," Kuramochi growled. "What would you know?"

Kazuya frowned and hoped his hurt didn't show.

"You realise I have two pitchers in there, right? And three of them are members of my team. Mine. Tetsu-san, you know what that means, right?"

The previous captain considered him seriously - though, honestly, Tetsu did most things seriously, it was just the kind of person he was - and nodded.

"As captain, your teammates are like your children."

Kazuya choked. Ok, that was too serious.

"No, that's not right…" Tetsu frowned. "It's like… as captain, you have a responsibility to your teammates. Part of that includes keeping them safe, even when off the field."

That was more like it.

"Besides," Kazuya pointed out. "When Kataoka-kantoku, Takashima-sensei, Todoroki-san, and Oota-san yell loud enough, you can tell what's happening even from over here."

* * *

Tesshin had had it up to his pointy Doberman ears with the police captain.

"What part," he growled, barely resisting baring his teeth, "of 'I am prepared to do anything to rescue those boys' do you not understand?"

The captain flicked his lion ears and raised his eyebrows.

"What part," he began pointedly, "of 'I can't let civilians onto an active hostage scene' do you not understand?"

Tesshin desperately wanted a brick wall to bash his head against. The two of them had been going back and forth like this ever since the police first arrived about six minutes before. All the coaches had already gotten their emotional reactions out through shouting; all that was left was terse logic.

"Those hostages are our children." Tesshin gestured at Todoroki. "In his case, his only son, and in Seido's case we are their guardians. You can't honestly expect us to just sit back and wait?"

The captain sighed and rubbed a hand over his nose. "Look, I'll make you a deal, ok? It's my one and only offer." Tesshin nodded. "I will allow one of you to go, under police escort, and try to talk to the kids. You will not do more than that. You will not attempt a one man rescue or participate in any actions we may undertake. Are we in agreement?"

Beside Tesshin, Oota heaved a relieved sigh. Tesshin thought it might be the first time the man had breathed since Kanemaru burst onto the field.

On Tesshin's other side, Rei nodded with a stony expression. Beside her, Todoroki looked close to bursting into another round of tears, but had enough composure left to gesture Tesshin forward.

"Go get our boys," he hiccuped.

* * *

Tetsu sat as calmly in the dugout as he possibly could, watching his old teammates pace.

He had actually been afraid Kuramochi would wear a hole in the floor, but thankfully Ryou had been able to pull him on to a bench and keep him there.

The others had no one to do so, and as a result, the feared hole might happen because of a group effort. Chris, Jun, Tanba, Kawakami, Kanemaru, and Zono - the latter three, along with Toujou, having already been in the dugout when they arrived - were certainly working hard at making the hole happen.

Even Masuko, sitting quietly in a corner as he tried to lower everyone's emotions with his quirk, didn't have much of an effect. The emotions, he had taken the time to explain, were too strong.

"What do you think is happening in there?" Miyuki asked.

Tetsu turned to look at the new captain, seated on the bench beside him. He didn't have to say anything. Miyuki gave him a side eyed look, then continued.

"They let Kataoka-kantoku in, and we've seen a ton of police officers enter and exit, but we haven't actually gotten any news. Just confirmation from the headcount that there's four players in there."

By this point, Miyuki had actually brought the pacers to a halt. He held their complete attention.

"What are you getting at, Miyuki?" Zono growled.

The catcher met his vice captain's eyes evenly. Tetsu was actually a little impressed he was able to; with all the stress, Zono had lost some of his fall leaves early.

"I mean we don't even know if they're alright. For all we know, they could be dead or -"

Ryou opened his mouth to spit, Tetsu was sure, a cutting response to that bit of catcher insight.

He didn't get the chance.

* * *

A gunshot and a yowl, one after the other, split the air, cutting and ugly and freezing everyone in their place better than even Miyuki's words did.

When he could move again, Shinji looked towards Kuramochi. He already knew, in the back of his mind, what that noise was. It had come from the direction of the bathroom, after all. But on some level…

On some level, he needed Kuramochi to tell him no. No, Sawamura's yowl of pain was not so loud that it reached them easily all the way over here. No, that was not even in pain. It was a call and nothing more. No, the pitcher Shinji had come to respect and, dare he say, call a friend, had not made a sound that wrenched his heart.

Shinji looked to Kuramochi and felt his heart completely stop instead. He knew he would get none of that.

Kominato had an arm wrapped around his boyfriend's waist. His fingers dug, white-knuckled, into jersey fabric as he held them both back.

The face of Kuramochi himself was turned away from Shinji, towards the bathroom, but his posture said it all. His tail had tucked itself as far in between his legs as it possibly could, and his ears lay flat against his head. The green fur across the back of his neck, usually invisible under his hair, had puffed out enough that there was no ignoring it or the truth it held.

Shinji's legs buckled. He sat on the bench, buried his head in his hands, and tried to ignore the world around him.

* * *

Hideaki sat between Shinji and the rest of the team, a rock hardened barrier.

At the moment he felt more like wood.

There had always been something for Hideaki to do, some solution to his problems. Sometimes it took so long it seemed impossible, like with becoming a pitcher again, but the solution was always there.

Now, though… for the first time in his life, he could do absolutely nothing. Everyone who needed to know had been told. He was looking at all of them, and had been for awhile. The police had let Kataoka-kantoku back, but he knew without asking that no students would be allowed. There was nothing to do but wait. Nothing he could do for his friends trapped within the bathroom, but out here...

Hideaki closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and straightened his back.

Shinji made a noise of wonder, and all around them their teammates exclaimed excitedly. Hopefully.

Hideaki opened his eyes to find Endeavor and a team of sidekicks walking inside the building. Police escorted them while leaning in close to, he assumed, brief them on the situation.

He let his shoulders relax ever so slightly. Reaching out, Hideaki pulled Shinji into his side for a one-armed hug.

Sometimes wood is thousands of years old and turns to stone, impossibly strong, to stand forever.

* * *

Chris and his old teammates waited impatiently, but it still took twenty, thirty minutes after Endeavor arrived before Kataoka-kantoku finally exited with Furuya in tow. The poor pitcher was half-dead on his feet. He looked up at them through lidded eyes, keeping up with their coach only thanks to an arm around his shoulders and a stubborn will.

Kataoka-kantoku handed him over to them with orders for half of them to get him into a bed. The other half were to come with him and get meals for the others.

They split up without a thought. Those most eager for news left with Furuya, while others who could get by with just the coach's reassurances for the time being headed for the dining hall.

Chris's choice was less pleasant. He headed in Furuya's direction, only for the coach to stop him with a quiet hand up.

"Your father has been calling Takashima, Oota, and I almost nonstop. Please call him back and reassure him that both you and your 'crazy boy' are perfectly fine."

Chris looked back at his coach. He knew his normal resting poker face had twisted into something strange - something that asked if the request was serious, my kouhais need me and you ask this of me?

Kataoka-kantoku just stared back evenly. He knew exactly what he was asking, but he did it anyway. That was the kind of man he was and why Chris had chosen Seido in the first place.

At least he'd confirmed that Sawamura was fine. Chris's heart had been in his throat since hearing the yowl, but now at least it retreated enough that he could clear his throat and speak.

"Yes, sir," he said. He bowed his head, murmured, "excuse me," and walked away.

In all of the chaos and panic, he had forgotten his phone and bag in the library and hadn't had the heart to go back and get them. He was paying for it now.

When he reached the library, it was to find a pile of book bags and baseball duffels behind the main desk, under the safeguard of the librarian. She smiled sympathetically at him and handed him his bag, but thankfully didn't do more than that. He didn't think he could stomach pleasantries right now.

Chris exited the the library and walked in the direction of the baseball dorms, phone ringing and pressed to his ear. It only rang twice before it was answered.

"Yuu!" his dad exclaimed. "How are -"

"I'm fine, Dad," Chris interrupted. "And so is Sawamura. I'm on my way to see him now, actually."

There was quiet for a few seconds, which really said more about his father's feelings than anything he could have said.

"I'm glad. He - I know you care about him. He brought out a side of you I hadn't seen in awhile, and I hadn't even realized I missed."

"Mm," Chris nodded. "Listen, dad - I can see the dorm from here. I'm going to hang up now."

"Take care, Yuu," his father said. "Give that crazy boy a hug from me."

"I love you," Chris replied, and closing his phone, sprinted to the dorms.

He opened the door to a feast. Beds had been claimed and the floor covered in baseball members.

"Chris-senpai!" Sawamura wailed. The lion cub launched himself from Kuramochi's side and burrowed into Chris's. He had to have been a koala in a previous life, Chris thought, to be this clingy. Still, he wasn't about to complain.

"Chris!" Jun hollered, waving from the top bunk next to Tetsu. "We saved you a spot on the bed!"

He waved in acknowledgment, but ignored his friends for now. He took in Furuya and the younger Kominato, both already asleep and safely bundled up. He noted the new groove in Sawamura's tail and, tightening his arms, maneuvered them onto the bed beside Kuramochi.

Now the pitcher was practically in his lap, head resting against his chest, and Sawamura purred in response. The sound was a rusty thing - probably because of the pained yowl. The thought made his shoulder ache in sympathy even as he watched Kuramochi's tail twine up and around the cub's wrist. Chris said nothing as it settled against Sawamura's pulse; he just tightened his own hold ever so slightly and listened to the murmur of their teammates around them.

He didn't let go until he felt the cub relaxing into sleep. Only then did he share a glance with Kuramochi and fully transfer Sawamura to the bed beside his roommate.

Standing up, Chris linked his hands over his head and stretched, cracking his back with a moan. The day had definitely been one of the longest he'd ever had. And after everything with his shoulder, he didn't say that easily. What made it even more remarkable was that it was barely even three o'clock in the afternoon. And yet, looking around him, all he could see were baseball members bedding down. After all the excitement and fear of the day, he wouldn't be surprised if they all slept through to the next day.

Turning, Chris began climbing the ladder to the top bunk. If all he could do for Sawamura and everyone else was be there, then he would be ready to do that to the best of his ability.

* * *

Hirofumi jolted awake and, rolling over, slammed his hand on his alarm's 'sleep' button. A noise suddenly went quiet, but it left a kind of… tense, agitated silence in its wake. The shock of it made him lie still, gazing blearily at the bedroom floor. For some reason he couldn't make out as much as he usually could without his glasses. He blinked furiously, still gazing down. The action accomplished nothing.

That's when it dawned on him. There was no light, unless you counted the moon shining through the blinds. Which meant it couldn't have been his alarm he accidentally silenced. Which meant -

Hirofumi nearly stopped breathing.

In the absence of his rough, still sleep heavy breathing, he could just make out the sound of even rougher breathing above him, accompanied by the murmur of someone's voice.

Hirofumi had only been in Seido's dorms for four weeks, but he already knew what woke him. The first night it had happened sent him scrambling, thinking someone was in their room who wasn't supposed to be. Memories of Kuramochi-senpai's head during the prank had flashed through his mind, only that time the hatchet was real. Hirofumi had screamed. Sawamura-senpai hadn't calmed down for another thirty minutes, and Kuramochi-senpai hadn't forgiven Hirofumi for another two days. It had taken caving to a night of catch and an early morning run for that to happen.

Now, though… now Hirofumi lay still for a moment before he rolled over and, rustling loudly, gathered his sheets to his chest. He dropped his mouth open and started breathing exercises.

This was only the second time it had happened, but Hirofumi already knew what it was. He had had nightmares himself as a kid, of his own quirklessness killing him someday. And… and everyone knew what happened to Seido and Yakushi that one fall practice. It was hard not to, when Endeavor himself had stormed in. The names of those involved hadn't been released. But that didn't matter when your roommate had a scar from a bullet wound on his tail.

Hirofumi counted ten sheep before the noises above him started again. He couldn't make out the words, but after a month of living together he easily recognised Kuramochi-senpai's voice. It was soft and soothing, intermixed with the occasional cheetah churr. Sawamura-senpai was crying, but Hirofumi didn't worry. It was better than the utter silence from the first time.

Gradually, the sounds above him started changing. Hiccups interrupted the crying, as did the occasional snort. The churrs became longer and longer. There was the thump of a pillow being fluffed, and then a half-laugh. An affronted grumble and more fluffing. The air conditioning beeped, whirred, and released cooler air. Their entire bed shook as someone flopped over, and then again with a second flop.

Sawamura-senpai's voice rose as he screeched, "Blanket hog!"

Kuramochi-senpai hissed and the bed shook again. Both of them quieted. Eventually, the lion's distinct snorting snore resounded throughout the room, and it didn't take long for the cheetah's lower, but just as bothersome snore to join it.

Hirofumi rolled back over to stare at the door. The entire situation, from when he woke up to when they fell asleep, had lasted about ten minutes. It took him maybe another five to join them, his own soft, breathy snores merging with theirs.

* * *

 **I swear I wasn't gonna have ships in this verse, and then Kuramochi said "boyfriend" and I couldn't bring myself to take it out.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and please review!**


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